Dr Asma Ounnas is a computer scientist by education and a business consultant and entrepreneur by practice. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of  Life.London, The Merchant of Arabia, and the Creatives Without Borders Group. Asma is also the co-founder of the Arab Entrepreneurs Board, currently acting as the strategy advisor to the board.

Asma received her education mostly through merit and excellency scholarships. She attended top universities in the United Kingdom and the United States of America such as Kings College London, University of Warwick, MIT, and Harvard Business School. Asma obtained her PhD from the University of Southampton, and has since led a successful career in top tier Investment banks and financial institutions including JPMorgan, Citi Group, Credit Suisse, BlueCrest Capital Management, and the London Stock Exchange. 

Leading at vice president and director levels in these top tier institutions, Asma is also a certified business analyst and investment manager, consulting for transformations programs, and inspiring creative change and problem-solving cross technology and business departments to optimise delivery and returns. Dr Ounnas boasts extensive expertise in the financial industry and Capital Markets, encompassing a wide range of asset classes such as equities, rates, foreign exchange, and credit. Her specialisation lies in risk management calculations, e-trading solutions, and automated index technology. Additionally, she has extensive experience in delivering regulatory projects related to investment banking trading activity and operational models.

Asma is passionate about innovative technology, data analysis, and artificial intelligence solutions, as well as economic transformations through entrepreneurship. She is an advocate for women and youth empowerment, and supports Hi-Po entrepreneurs through mentorship and motivational speaking in English and Arabic. With over 20 years of experience in the UK, Asma is also a firm believer in the attribution of continuous education, mentorship and knowledge sharing towards personal success.  You can find the latest entrepreneurial projects Dr Ounnas is working on here.

Asma is a published author and runs a digital publication platform titled ‘Life.London’ that promotes the London community and aims at helping professionals of diverse backgrounds in navigating their lives in London through personal capital optimisation, while fostering a culture of positivity and optimism. During her academic career, she published 7 peer-reviewed papers in top Technology conferences and Journals such as The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). She was also awarded Best Paper Award, and her PhD thesis is accessible from the British Library archives. Asma is also an affiliate of the Royal Society of Literature, The Royal Academy of Arts (RA), the royal chartered Society of Antiquaries of London, and the Institute of Directors.

Migrating to the UK at an early age, Asma is from an Algerian descent with dual Algerian and British citizenship. She is a world traveller and the proud mother of 4 year old twin boy and girl.  Asma is also a member of the UK Twins Trust charity, and the National Autistic Society.

Dr Asma Ounnas is unique individual with a successful journey of conquering male dominated industries. With her wealth of knowledge, she talks about a varied range of topics in her area of expertise and passion including business strategy, innovation, financial technology (FinTech), education technology, artificial intelligence (AI), entrepreneurship and startups, leadership, career progression, self-development, women empowerment, Arab women, neurodiversity, and parenting children on the Autism Spectrum. For guest speaking at panels, podcasts, workshops, and conferences, please contact Dr Asma Ounnas at [email protected].